Label holder



April 22, 1930. F. M. ZIMMERMAN LABEL HOLDER Filed Feb. 20, 1928 Illlllllllll ZZZ/672507, Zz'mzrzarwzm Patented Apr. 22, 1930 FRANK M, zmm is, or m an rumors,

LABEL-:HOLDER f Application filed FebruaryQO,1928. Seria1.'l l'o.255,46.

This invention. relates to label holding means, and .more especially 'to me'ans of moulding-like character adapted for holding labels. interchangeably.ondisplay shelves, 5 storage bins andthe like,.as for marking the price or the kindof'goods referred to, and is] animprovement relative to my'Patento.

.I havefoundthatit is often difficultor.

impossible to make? satisfactory wooden mouldings. adapted. for this purpose, ofsufficiently narrow width .to register with the. thickness of the shelving which is usually;

about three-fourths ofan inch. thick, espe- ,,cially when the largest possible sizefof label consistent with the thickness of the shelf "is required. :Moreover some shelving is even thinner. Although sheetmetal moulding has' been used for holdingf labels5.ithasproven unsatisfactorymainlysfor thefi'reason that it.v was structurally defective. and. resulted in, injury to persons" using thesame, as by .cut-

ting the fingers.

-The main objects of my present invention I are to provide an improved formof label holder; to'provide such a holder in thin and narrow elongated strip form, adapted for cutting to fit any. desiredlengths ;.to provide such mouldings of shallow channelrshape adapted to hold aclabel cardin flat form and. in suchmanner as to prevent accidental endwise. slipping;v and to provide such a moulding adapted to permitreadyinsertion ofthe label without distortion or bending 5 thereof, and mainl by-vertical movement and wherein the la el will be held inplace mainly byrgravity,.though removable by simple inverse operation;

I Illustrative embodimentsof this invention 40 are shown by the accompanying drawings.

in which: 1 '''Figure 1 is a vertical-section through a shelving system,,equipped with label holders such-as herein described;

r Figure 2 isan enlarged section showingiin Ti detail the upper label holder of'Figure 1 Figure 3 is 'Inainlysimilar to Figure2ibut ,shows the label elevated somewhat for inser.' tionor removal. I Figurei t is an enlarged vertical section showing. in detail'the lower label holder of: Figure V I l Figure 5 .is an (end view ofa very thin molding of sheet metal having plain" rounded edges. I p

In the construction shown in the drawings,; the shelvesl and 2 are supported. on the wall 3 and are provided with labels 4 and5 to indicatethe price or character ofqthe goods '6 and 7 displayed on said shelves. i

Theupper label 4 is. narrow and held by a sheetmetal moulding 8 .c orresponding in width with the thickness 'of. its supporting shelf 1. The lower label 5 is relatively wide" and is heldby a'wooden moulding 9 secured '65 to its supporting shelf 2, this moulding. being wider than the thickness of the shelf and extending downward sufficiently. to accommodate the greater width. of the label; The mouldings 8- and, 9' are attached totheir re-,' 70.

spective shelves by anyconvenient fastening 10,-as for instance nailsor screws. f v

Referringnow to the details of thesheet'.

metal moulding8, as shown in Figure 2, this memberincludesa fiatback part-11, bordered with a. downwardly-inclinededge part'l8,

whereby there is provideda channel 19 to receive the lower edge of the label. It is to V be noted especiallythat the upper channel 15 is appreciably deeper than the lower chan ml 19, so as to accommodate raising the label sufiiciently to releasesits lower, edge, said channell'5 being deep enoughto retain the upper edge of the label when the latter is resting, normally in place. Moreover, the

edge part 18 is sopositioned that the bottom L of channel19, which is wedge-shapeis suffi ciently narrow to grip. the lower edge of the label" wedgingly' and so prevent accidental sidewise slipping of the label; The upper channel is formed to permit full u w d lee ,sulficiently to accommodate the insertion and movement of the label without appreciable wedging and the edge part 14 is inclined removal of the label without bending, as will be apparent from Figure 3.]

Referring now to Figure 4, which shows the details of the lower moulding ofFigui-e '1, this'moulding includes a plain back part 21 having a forwardly-projecting top edge portion '22, terminating in a downward flange 23, the back edgeofwhich is inclined j as shown at 24, whereby a V-shaped channel,

' 25 is provided to receive the upper edge of the label 5. The lower edge of themoulding 9 is provided with a forwardly-extending part 26, terminating in an upward flange 27, having an inclined back face 28,- whereby a wedge-shaped channel 29 is provided to re- V ceive the lower edge of label 5.

It is tobe noted that the upper flange 23- is deeper than the lower flange 27 and that the lower channel 29 is narrower than the upper channel25. As a result of this con stru'ction, the label may be raised suiliciently to release its lower edge but the upper edge cannot escape so long as the lower edge'is in its channel 29. Here, too, endwise movement of the label is opposed by its wedging position in the "narrow bottom channel. By the construction "above described, the

j label may beleasily inserted and removed ,and remove labels.

without bending or creasing and with corresponding less likelihood of soiling in such use. Furthermore, the construction of the edge flanges of the metal 'moulding is such th'atit combines facility of use with safety against injuryt-o those who have occasion to handle themoulding or who have to insert This safety feature is accomplished by turning the sharp edge of the moulding inward, as indicated at 14. and

I l 8 on Figure 2, where it serves also to good structural and operating advantage as well as for safety.

Referring to Figure 1, it is apparent that the narrow metal moulding 8 accommodates the widest possible label consistent with nonoverlapping of the moulding "above or below the edge of the shelf and that'with such a moulding a maximum economy of space is attainable, no head room above the-goods being sacrificed on account of a depending moulding. However, where such economy i 5, the card 4, indicated by dotted lines, is applied to a sheet metal holder 31 comprising f a flat back part 32 with top and bottom flanges turned forwardly at 33 and 34: and

tion and removal of said card.

. claims.

convergently at 35 and 36, but inclined outward slightly to accommodate ready inser- The upper channel 37 permits the upper edge of the card to rise freely therein for manipulation in and out. The lower channel 38 is V- shaped, as at the lower edge of Fig. l, and for like reason. The edges 89and .40 are formed rounded and smooth by the rolling process usedin manufacturing the flat stock This Fig. 5 style of moulding has some ad vantages over'that of Figs. 2 and 3 in that,

fora given size, it can be made from somewhat narrower stock, and is a little easier to mold. But on the other hand it is not so easy to obtain the desired stock of assorted widths." The strips'used for Fig. 2 style is sheared to. order from sheet stock, but the resultant sharp raw edges are dangerous unless turned inward and folded back in the molding process, as in Fig. :2; The strips. for Fig. 5 style have to be rolled for predetermined widths, corresponding rolls being used; and hence onaccount of rolling costs and rather limited general demand for such strips, practical limitations favor style Fig. 2, except where proper stock'strips for style 5 can be found in the market, as for instance in long rolls from which the stock may be straightened outas it runs through the molding machine and then cut into desired lengths ready for use.

Such sheet metal molding is made of rather thin stock such as permits of attachment by driving .nails therethrough wherever necessary. Sheet iron is most commonly used. It may of coursebe finished in any desired style as, for instance, oxidized, tinned, or galvanized, et cetera. x

I It is to be noted that in all of these designs I obviate the need of a deep channel or concavely rounded bottom therefor. to. accommodate insertionof the cards, as this is provided for by the top and bottom grooves. Hence my present moldings may all be ofvery shallow depth.

-Although certain specific embodiments of this invention have been selected to illustrate my improvements herein set fortln; it

is to be understood that some .of the details of the constructions shown may be altered. or omitted without departing from the spirit of this invention as defined by the following I claim: 7 1. A label holder comprising a molding grooved on its front-side to receive a label and having top and bottom flanges turned convergently to hold the edges of the label, the top flangebeingappreciably wider than the bottom flange, and't-hebottom flange hav ing an abruptly inclined inner face whereby abV-shaped channel is provided of :suficient acuteness to wedgingly embracethe lower edge of the label and prevent accidental lateral displacement thereof.

2. A shelf provided with a label detachably mounted on the front edge thereof, said shelfhaving. a sheet metal holder secured thereto formed with top and bottom channel flanges'to embrace the edges of said label, said holder being substantially equal in width to the thickness of the shelf, said label bev ing only slightly less in width, the upper flange being wider than the lower flange and the distance from the upper edge of the lower flange to the top of the upper channel space being substantially equal to or slightly great- 7 er thanthe width of the label, whereby the latter may be inserted and removed by Ver tical movement mainly and without bending, V

and the lower channel being V-shaped with a sharply acute bottom part somewhat narrower than the thickness of said label, whereby accidental lateral displacement of the label is prevented.

w 3. A label holder comprising an integral 7 strip of sheet metal provided on its lateral Y edges With convergingly'turned flanges, the

edge portions of said strip being positioned within said flanges and extending diagonally thereof for holding 'a-label against the face ofsaidstrip. 7

4. A label holder comprising an integral strip of metal having top and bottom flanges formed thereon, each-comprising an opensided-tubular structure, the top flange being agonally of the interior of each flangeconstricting the open side thereof and comprising lateralinwardly folded extremities of said strip for providing a smooth, edge on appreciably wider than the bottom flange,

and yieldableclamping means extending dieach flange and for yieldablyeholdinglabels against the outer side of said strip;

Signed at Chicago this lstday of Febrw. V

ary, 192s.

FRANK M. ZIMMERMAN. 

